Navigate

Ask Monty A Question

Buy Monty’s Book

Home Buying

Home Selling

Home Owning

Author: Monty

  • Trust Our Real Estate Agent?

    Reader Question: We wanted to trust our real estate agent. We accepted a purchase offer which allowed us to stay for 21 days after closing with no cost and an additional 45 days at a nominal daily rate. We were out of town during the entire transaction, and our agent sent us the electronic document and…

  • We have an offer for a million dollars over appraisal

    Reader Question: We have an offer for a million dollars over appraisal for our building and parking lot from a developer. They offered 2.2 million dollars with a one-year requirement for us to vacate. We have a separate independent appraisal valuing the two parcels at about $1.2 million. The plan is to demolish the building and…

  • To Own Your Home, or Not

    Reader Question: Should we own a home, or not? We have been married for six years. We have rented till now and have saved enough for a twenty-percent down payment with a tidy reserve. A variety of concerns make us wonder if we should buy a home. The economy appears to be doing well, but underfunded…

  • Five tips when researching for a housing cooperative

    Readers Question: What is a housing cooperative? Monty’s Answer: When researching for a housing cooperative here are five tips. A housing cooperative is a form of ownership that creates an interest in an abode through stock ownership in a company, as opposed to a deed to a parcel of real estate. It could also be…

  • Retirement Home Search Requires Effort

    Reader Question: My wife and I are getting closer to retirement, and we can go anywhere we want in the USA. We want to find the right lake or mountain home. I am looking for a single agent/source to help us find what we want anywhere in the USA. I am discovering that real estate…

  • Who invests in commercial real estate in America?

    Reader Question: I am researching commercial real estate. Who invests in commercial real estate in the US? Monty’s Answer: The definition of commercial real estate is buildings owned by an investor or investors to generate income from rent. According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the total size of the commercial…

  • Homeowner Seeks To Nullify An Easement

    Reader Question: I have a question regarding easements. I own a home built in the late 1920s. The original owner created an easement agreement with one neighbor next door. Nearly eighty years later I tried to dissolve the easement and told I could not, that my current neighbors would need to agree to terminate it…

  • My partners won’t buy my share. What can I do?

    Reader Question: I inherited a large commercial rental property along with my three siblings. I would like it to be sold, even at a much lower price, and they do not. Is there any way for me to get out of this partnership and receive money, according to what my share is worth now? Monty’s…

  • Four Tips To Find Lost Closing Statements

      Reader Question: How do I find lost closing statements for a property I sold in 2004 in a 1031 exchange where the title company and 1031 companies are gone, the real estate agent is deceased, her company no longer has any records, and the mortgage company no longer has those records? Monty’s Answer: Fifteen…

  • Deciding If A Home Improvement Is Worthwhile

     Reader Question: I have a condo unit facing an empty residential lot which has a stockade fence bolted on top of an eight-foot-high concrete wall. My second-floor unit is level with the top of the wall and all of the fence. I believe the terrible condition of the fence and the fact that my deck…

  • Dealing With A Municipality Issue

    Reader Question: We are dealing with a municipality issue. We have a big problem with a new fire code dictating new elevations and width measurements of the easement road which currently services eight homes. Our real estate agent discovered it answering a prospect’s question about fire codes. We requested a variance in this provision in a…

  • Landlord confused by agent’s rent-up procedures

      Reader Question: We are confused by our agent’s rent-up procedures. We rented our home to a couple who gave us a month-and-a-half for security. They also paid their real estate agent a months rent. Their agent split the month’s rent with our real estate agent. However, we didn’t get a months rent before our tenants…

  • Novice investor needs help with where to start

    Reader Question: I would like to get a home ready to rent but I don’t know where to start. I am a novice investor. Structurally the house is sound, but it has been neglected and needs to be cleaned up! The kitchen and master bathroom needs updating, and an in-ground pool and fencing need to…

  • Home Seller Seeks Negotiation Advice

    Reader Question: I need negotiation advice. ​I own a duplex and occupy one of the units. I have accepted an offer from a buyer for the property. My tenant’s lease extends eight months past the date of closing. I have negotiated a rent back to stay in my unit until the end of my current tenant’s…

  • Should a Homeowner Allow Others to Use Property

    Question: Should I as a Homeowner Allow Others to Use Property I own? I own a home that sits on about one-and-a-half acres that is very close to a high school. The back part of my plot is a twenty thousand square foot plot that was a fallow cornfield when we moved in. The agricultural…